ON WINTER RHUBARB 



The nightshade family has other members 

 seemingly worthy of development, that have been 

 given scant attention. 



One of the most interesting of these obscure 

 relatives of the potato and tomato and eggplant 

 is the not unfamiliar but seldom cultivated plant 

 known as the Ground Cherry, sometimes dubbed 

 also Husk Tomato. 



THE INTERESTING GROUND CHERRY 



The little plant in question belongs to the genus 

 Physalis, and it has numerous close relatives that 

 inhabit various parts of the world. One of these, 

 the Physalis alkekengi, or strawberry tomato, has 

 been under cultivation for a long time. The fruit 

 is small, yellow, sweetish, and insipid. Other spe- 

 cies have been received from Japan and Korea, 

 and also from India. 



I have grown several varieties of the common 

 species of ground cherry from time to time for the 

 past forty years. 



In general the fruit of the plant appears to be a 

 curious misfit, the husk not being large enough to 

 contain the fruit when ripe, and thus splitting open 

 to expose the fruit itself, which thus becomes sub- 

 ject to cracking and splitting. 



I have attempted through cultivation and selec- 

 tion to remedy this fault; and I have also at- 

 tempted to cross the ground cherry with other 



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